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Tirey Lafayette Ford

Tirey Lafayette Ford (December 29, 1857 – June 26, 1928) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as a California State Senator and the 18th Attorney-General. He was also the chief lawyer for the United Railroads in San Francisco.

Tirey Lafayette Ford
Tirey L. Ford 220.jpg
18th California Attorney General
In office
January 4, 1899 – September 14, 1902
GovernorHenry Gage
Preceded byWilliam F. Fitzgerald
Succeeded byUlysses S. Webb
Member of the California Senate
from the California's 3rd State Senate district district
In office
January 2, 1893 - January 4, 1897
Preceded byM. H. Mead
Succeeded byWilliam F. Prisk
Sierra County, District Attorney
In office
1888–1890
Personal details
Born(1857-12-29)December 29, 1857
DiedJune 26, 1928(1928-06-26) (aged 70)
San Francisco, California
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Mary Emma Byington
Children3
ProfessionAttorney, Politician
Signature

Early life

Ford was born on a farm in Monroe County, Missouri, to parents Jacob Harrison Ford and Mary Winn Abernathy. He attended district county school from 1863 to 1873 and graduated from high school in 1876.[1]

Career

In 1877, at 19, Ford left Missouri and took an immigrant train to Colusa County, California. For three years, he worked on his uncle Hugh J. Glenn's ranch; Glenn was a Democratic candidate for Governor. Ford then studied law with Colonel Park Henshaw in Chico, California.[2] Ford was admitted to the California bar in August 1882.[3]

In 1882, Ford moved to Oroville, California, the county seat of Butte County to practice law with Senator Albert F. Jones as part of the firm name of Jones & Ford. After a year, he moved to Downieville, California, the county seat of Sierra County, where he practiced law under the firm name of Smith & Ford, specializing in mining law.[1]

In 1888, Ford was elected District Attorney of Sierra County as a Republican. He re-elected in 1890 without opposition, as the Democrats did not nominate a candidate against him.[4]

Ford became the Republican California State Senator in 1892 and 1895, representing the 3rd Senate District, covering Plumas, Sierra, and Nevada Counties.[5][6] On March 23, 1893, he introduced two bills known as the Ford's Mining Bills, Senate Bill No. 50 aimed to allow hydraulic mining where it would not harm navigable rivers, and Senate Bill No. 389 proposed $250,000 for building restraining dams, funded by the U.S. government.[7]

In 1894, he was appointed attorney for the California State Board of Harbor Commissioners and held this position until he was elected California's Attorney General in 1898.[8] Ford resolved a complex legal dispute over ownership of Channel Street in San Francisco’s harbor. The court ruled that this land would be for public use, benefiting the city of San Francisco.[9]

He served as the 18th California Attorney General from 1899 to 1902. One of his noteworthy actions was reversing a decision on the inheritance tax for the Leland Stanford estate, directing $250,000 to San Francisco public schools.[1]

In August 1902, Ford was made general counsel for the United Railroads (URR) of San Francisco.[1] He had a thorough and accurate knowledge of railroad law and other areas of law, making him one of California's top legal experts.[2][10] As attorney for URR, Ford was involved in a bribery scandal in 1906 but was later cleared of any wrongdoing. The scandal was part of the San Francisco graft trials, which also involved Mayor Eugene Schmitz and attorney Abe Ruef, who were accepting bribes.[11]

In 1905, Governor George Pardee chose Ford as State Prison Director. Ford wrote a book called California State Prisons: Their History, Development, and Management, published in 1910.[12] As prison director, he created a special bureau for paroled prisoners.[1][13][14]

After retiring, Ford focused on history and writing. In 1926, he published a novel called Dawn and the Dons: The Romance of Monterey, featuring illustrations by artist Jo Mora.[15][16]

Death

Ford died in his bed from a sudden heart attack on June 26, 1928, at the age of 70.[17] A funeral service was held at Gary's Chapel on Divisadero Street at Post in San Francisco. He was interred at the family mausoleum, at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.[18]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Press Reference Library, Notables of the West. New York: International News Service. 1915. p. 124.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Irvine, Leigh Hadley (1905). A History of The New California. New York: The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 469. Tirey L. Ford.
  3. ↑ "The State Bar of California". the State Bar. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Hon. Tirey L. Ford. State Senator from the Third Senatorial District". The Sacramento Union (Sacramento, California): 4. 4 February 1893. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-union-tirey-l-ford/158909287/. Retrieved 2024-11-12. 
  5. ↑ "Hon. Tirey L. Ford Who Will Be the Republican Nominee For State Senator-Representing Nevada, Sierra and Plumas Counties". Daily Miner-Transcript (Nevada City, California): 3. August 20, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-miner-transcript-tirey-l-ford/158906336/. Retrieved 2024-11-12. 
  6. ↑ "The Legislative Ticket". The San Francisco Call and Post (San Francisco, California): 2. November 8, 1894. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-call-and-post-tirey-l/158907193/. Retrieved 2024-11-12. 
  7. ↑ "Ford's Mining Bill". Sacramento Daily Union (Sacramento, California): 3. March 23, 1893. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-union-fords-mining-bills/158906027/. Retrieved 2024-11-12. 
  8. ↑ "Heart Attack Caused Death Of Tirey L. Ford". The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California): 5. June 27, 1928. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-tirey-l-ford-obituar/158907774/. Retrieved 2024-11-12. 
  9. ↑ "The Pacific Reporter". West Publishing Company. 62: 739–740. 1901. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  10. ↑ "Attorney-general Resigns Position". San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, California): 14. September 12, 1902. https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-francisco-chronicle-tirey-l-ford/158909979/. Retrieved 2024-11-12. 
  11. ↑ Bean, Walton (1974). "The Trials of Tirey L. Ford". Boss Ruef's San Francisco: The Story of the Union Labor Party, Big Business, and the Graft Prosecution. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 240, 240–255. ISBN 9780520000940.
  12. ↑ Los Angeles Herald, Volume 33, Number 20
  13. ↑ "Tirey L. Ford Resigns and US Web Will Succeed Him" (PDF). San Francisco Call. September 12, 1902. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  14. ↑ "Tirey L. Ford, 18th Attorney General". State of California Department of Justice. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  15. ↑ Purdy, Helen Throop (1927). "Dawn and the Dons. The Romance of Monterey by Tirey L. Ford, Jo Mora". California Historical Society Quarterly. California Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Jun., 1927), pp. 195-196. 6 (2): 195–196. doi:10.2307/25177883. JSTOR 25177883.
  16. ↑ Ford, Tirey (1926). Dawn and the Dons; the Romance of Monterey. pp. 204–206. ISBN 9781432516307. OL 11930655M. 1432516302. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  17. ↑ Tirey L. Ford Dies at Bay. California. 1928. https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=CSH19280628.2.5&srpos=1&e=------192-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Tirey+L.+Ford%22+Found+Dead-------1. Retrieved 2020-02-18. 
  18. ↑ "Index to Politicians". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2020-02-18.

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